CVE-2024-36970
📋 TL;DR
A deadlock vulnerability in the Linux kernel's iwlwifi wireless driver can cause system instability when multiple WiFi radios are present. The issue affects Linux systems with Intel WiFi hardware using the iwlwifi driver, potentially leading to denial of service conditions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel iwlwifi driver
📦 What is this software?
Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system lockup requiring hard reboot, disrupting all services on affected systems
Likely Case
WiFi connectivity loss and system instability when multiple iwlwifi radios are active
If Mitigated
Minor performance impact or no effect if systems have limited WiFi radios
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires specific hardware configuration and appears to be a reliability issue rather than security vulnerability
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Linux kernel with commit 3d913719df14c28c4d3819e7e6d150760222bda4 or d20013259539e2fde2deeac85354851097afdf9e
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d913719df14c28c4d3819e7e6d150760222bda4
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix
2. Reboot system
3. Verify iwlwifi module loads correctly
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WiFi radios
linuxReduce number of active iwlwifi radios below threshold
sudo ip link set wlan0 down
sudo rmmod iwlwifi
Use older kernel
linuxRevert to Linux kernel version before 6.9
sudo apt install linux-image-6.8.0-xx-generic
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Limit number of WiFi radios to fewer than 24 per system
- Disable WiFi functionality on systems where wired networking is sufficient
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check kernel version and iwlwifi module loading: uname -r && lsmod | grep iwlwifiCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Check kernel version contains fix commit: git log --oneline | grep -E '3d913719df14|d20013259539'📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic messages
- iwlwifi module load failures
- System lockup events in syslog
Network Indicators:
- Sudden WiFi connectivity loss across multiple radios
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("panic" OR "deadlock" OR "iwlwifi")